PJ Library Recipe of the Month: Persian Food for Purim
March coincides with the Hebrew month of Adar, and during this month we celebrate Purim. The story behind this holiday took place over 2,000 years ago in Persia. There are many fun Purim traditions for families to partake in such as dressing up, sharing gift baskets (mishloach manot) with friends, and shaking groggers to make noise while we read the Book of Esther (megillah).
While this holiday is observed in a joyous way, the story of Purim is about a very serious subject: how Queen Esther saved the Jews of Persia from annihilation. PJ Library has many kid-friendly educational resources, including videos, songs, crafts, and of course stories, that you can use to teach children the story of Purim.
PJ Library’s top tips for explaining Purim to young children:
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Keep it Simple: Summarize the story and focus on how we celebrate the bravery of Queen Esther who told King Ahashverosh about Haman’s evil plan and saved our people.
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Focus on Values: The Purim story helps kids learn about courage, bravery, and standing up for what's right. Kids can understand themes, without knowing gory details.
- Teach Commandments (Mitzvot): There are four commandments associated with Purim. These are reading the story in the Book of Esther, making gift baskets, giving to the needy and eating a special meal. The gift baskets and festive meal often include the classic 3 cornered cookies, hamantaschen or oznei haman. To help you bake your own this year, PJ Library has compiled these super easy Hamantaschen recipes for your family.
To make your Purim meal extra special, why not cook Persian food? If you're new to Persian cooking, this simple recipe from My Persian Kitchen is specially designed for cooking with kids. This meatball, carrot and potato dish is so much fun to make with cookie cutters and the result is delicious!
